1789
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Dominant colour
You May Count on Me is a 1789 by Augustin de Saint-Aubin, a Romanticism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
You see a man in a frilly shirt holding a rose. A small cherub below him does the same. They look pleased with themselves. This is one of two prints about a couple sneaking off after a secret meeting. The prints show the artist and his wife acting out French aristocratic flirting rules of the 1700s. The rose is a bold symbol of their fun. Try looking up the Cleveland Museum of Art’s full set.
This print is a companion to another depicting a woman telling her lover to "At Least be Discreet," as he slips out of her boudoir. Together the two prints depict a couple saying farewell after a romantic rendezvous. Here, both the man and the cherub beneath him proudly display a plucked rose as a symbol of sexual triumph. Amusingly, the prints actually depict the artist and his wife, whimsically portraying the mores and fashion of French aristocratic society during the 18th century.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Augustin de Saint-Aubin sometimes styled Auguste de Saint-Aubin (3 January 1736 – 9 November 1807), belongs to an important dynasty of French designers and engravers.
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